Concrete Jungle

When my mom moved into a condo in Cebu, I really didn’t think much about how different it would be from living in a detached family home. I was just glad that she was finally living on her own terms in a two-bedroom unit that was spacious enough for her and her household help. A bonus was the terrace she always said she wanted although there is little chance of sitting outside and sipping coffee unless you want to do it in full view of the cars, pedestrians, habal-habal and tricycle drivers below.

And then we move into one in the central business district of Makati City, considered the country’s financial and business center.

Leadership lessons from Shell’s top man

Image lifted from "Thought Leaders"

In an interview on “Thought Leaders”, a weekly show featuring influential management and business leaders by Bloomberg TV Philippines, Shell companies in the Philippines Country Chair Edgar Chua gives some insights on his leadership and management style as he tackled various aspects of growing the business of oil and gas exploration, extraction, refining and delivery to consumers under various companies under the Shell brand.

Not everything happens by choice so make the most of chance.  When asked how he rose from being a sales representative in 1979 to his present position as country chair of Shell companies in the Philippines, Chua says some of his personnel movements were by choice and others, by chance.  “The important point is that one has to be open to opportunities, and to doing things that take you out of your comfort zone.” From sales rep, Chua did the rounds in Finance, Audit, Trading, Operations and other areas of the business.  He adds that a person who takes whatever is thrown him and takes it well proves to senior managers that he is flexible, adaptable and capable of doing different things. 

When drivers can't (don't) read

It’s happening again. I flash my headlights at the car in front of me to get the driver’s attention. We’re on the STAR tollway where the speed limit is 60 kph minimum and 100 kph maximum for private cars. The car ahead of me is hogging the passing/overtaking lane or the leftmost lane of a highway at a steady 80 kph.

There is no response. We go steady and slow until I follow other drivers and just overtake on the inside or on the right lane, which is considered dangerous and designated as a driving offense in some countries. Here, it’s just considered passing.

A little help goes a long way

Librada De Castro Acuzar is not one to take things for granted.

A teacher at the Ambulong Elementary School (ES) in Batangas City, Teacher “Ada”, as she is more popularly known, has worked hard for every break that has come her way.

Life was not easy growing up for the second of 11 siblings. “My father was a farmer, and my mother did not have a job,” she said. They ate off the land and from the proceeds of whatever produce he was able to sell, she added.

Braving Sumaguing Cave

I’d seen pictures and read accounts of experiences at the Sumaguing Cave in Sagada. After a severe muscle cramp made walking torture at the Batad Rice Terraces and made itself felt the day before when we went up and down a hillside to view the hanging coffins, I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to go to Sumaguing Cave.

But I was the “promotor (promoter)”, a label my husband and sister-in-law had given me for getting them to walk kilometers up and down mountain trails to and from the Batad Rice Terraces. I was invincible. I had grit, adventure and spirit – which was slowly sinking at the thought of maneuvering over rocks in the dark, getting wet and rappelling up and down inside the cave.